Governor funds Big Island building projects

Published March 13, 2014 - 1:00am

A number of other funds were earmarked for projects statewide. They include:

• $7,575,000 – Information and Communication Services Division (ICSD) Radio Facilities, statewide – Equipment funds for health and safety improvements to support the state’s Anuenue and Hawaiian Microwave Radio Systems, as well as the windward, north shore and central Oahu radio sites. These systems provide critical first responder and public safety communications infrastructure.

• $7,365,000 – Capital Improvement Program Staff Costs, statewide – Finances Department of Accounting and General Services (DAGS) Public Works Division’s project-funded staff positions for Fiscal Year 2014. This staff implements the various capital improvements program projects for DAGS and DAGS-assisted agencies.

• $5,300,000 – Enterprise Information Technology (IT) Infrastructure, statewide – Finances equipment and software for the establishment of the State of Hawaii Government Private Cloud. This is an abstraction and consolidation of all the necessary IT resources in order to provide robust, scalable, reliable and cost-effective computing environment for the state.

• $4,994,280 – Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP), statewide – Finances a Program Management Office for the statewide ERP Program. The program will provide the state with an integrated, streamlined approach to financial management (including budgeting), human resources management and acquisition management.

• $3,625,000 – Hardening of Hurricane Shelters, statewide – Design and construction funds for improvements to harden various school facilities (used as emergency shelters) with hurricane-protective measures. Improvements include upgrading windows, doors, skylights and other building components that are vulnerable to high winds and flying debris.

• $400,000 – Statewide Financial System Enterprise Reengineering (ERP), statewide – Finances the Agreement for Special Deputy Attorney General Services dated March 28, 2013 and Supplemental Contract No. 2 between the state Department of the Attorney General and Kaye Scholer, LLP, to review and provide advice and counsel to the state and the Office of Information Management and Technology regarding the adequacy of the request for proposal for the ERP project.

• $63,275 – Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP), statewide – To finance Special Deputy Attorney General Services to provide advice and counsel to the State and the Office of Information Management and Technology, the ERP Steering Committee and the State Procurement Office related to ERP solution. Services include reviewing vendor questions, assisting in preparing responses to vendor questions, providing input related to the evaluation process and providing assistance in connection with any protests. The implementation of ERP requires the expertise and guidance of legal counsel services that specialize in solutions of this magnitude. For this purpose, professional assistance is needed to protect the state from potential contractual issues.

By COLIN M. STEWARTTribune-Herald staff writer

Two Big Island renovation projects received funding to proceed from the state Wednesday, when Gov. Neil Abercrombie released a total of $64.7 million for capital improvement projects across the state.

Among the specific projects mentioned in a press release issued by the governor’s office Wednesday afternoon were $460,000 for renovations and roof replacements for buildings in the Department of Health’s Waiakea Complex, and $200,000 for the renovations, improvements, and reactivation of the Kulani Correctional Facility.

The Department of Health work will center on buildings located at 191 Kuawa St. in Hilo, including the Hilo Environmental Health Center, the Waiakea Health Center, the department’s Vector Control Building, and a pair of carports. Work would include re-roofing the majority of buildings, which are wooden structures that have extensive termite damage and are more than 50 years old, according to the release.

Additionally, an incinerator building in the complex will be demolished, as it is no longer used, according to a Department of Health spokesman.

Stan’s Contracting Inc. has been selected to perform the work at a total bid of $1,366,700. Wednesday’s $460,000 release would likely add to funds previously released by the state, according to the spokesman. Work on the project could begin within the next three months, and is required to be complete within 240 calendar days.

Meanwhile, $200,000 will go toward design and construction funds for renovations and improvements to reactivate Kulani, which was closed in 2009 due to budget restrictions.

“Renovations will allow the facility for reoccupation by minimum-security male inmates,” the governor’s press release reads. “KCF will eventually house up to 200 inmates. The facility is currently occupied by the state Department of Defense’s Hawaii National Guard Youth Challenge Academy, which will be relocating to the Keaukaha Military Reserve facility.”

Isemoto Contracting Co. Ltd. was selected to perform the Kulani Correctional Facility work with a winning bid of $641,500, according to the state’s Public Works Division website.

“Many of these projects will address much-needed repairs and improvements to create a safer, more efficient state infrastructure and a more productive workflow,” Abercrombie was quoted as saying in the release. “These funds will further vitalize the construction industry, which is forecast to lead Hawaii’s economic and job growth over the next year.”

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